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Hello-
I was hoping any and all users can giver their 2 cents here. What are the real world limitations of this device? I have done a fair amount of research and this phone seems to fit the bill, but wanted some feedback on it. I know I want an Android based smartphone, and I must stick with AT&T as it's what my company has and it's the ONLY provider in my rural part of Texas.
While the phone has been labeled "mid-spec" it still seems pretty impressive. I also know being tied to AT&T means I'm REALLY limited, and I do not want an iPhone. My wife has one, I've tried it... It completly DIED after 3 months. I know in other posts people have said iPhone still best bang for the buck for AT&T smartphone, but a smartphone that does not work as a phone, doesn't show the net as it really appears, and has updates that seemingly copy Android does not seem too "smart" to me. Yes, iTunes looks pretty, and I could play "Words w/ Friends," but seems like a lot of fluff.
I have found due to hardware Aria cannot run Google Earth, is there anything else it cannot do? I know there is debate about Gingerbread being compatible, but that seems a ways down the road. I'm really torn, as I like the size of this thing: it still looks like a phone and not a flat panel TV, but the car guy side of me thinks "no replacement for displacement" when it comes to a processor.
That would mean getting a Nexus One, but I worry about the trackball popping out like my sister-in-laws Blackberry, and the cost is hard to swallow. The Desire looks AWESOME but if I have read correctly it will not work on 3G for data, only voice, and it is expensive. Then there is the Samsung Captivate which is coming, but it seems HUGE, or does the camera add 10 lbs???. I'd like to limit the physical size to an iphone-esque size at most so it is pocketable. I also have read Samsung can be difficult to work with from a consumer standpoint with respect to updates, etc.
I also like the Sense UI as it seems elegantly simple and worked well while I messed with the phone in the store.
Overall, I want the most bang for the buck phone. A true "dream machine" would be an Aria sized phone, with the Desire specs, that does it all on 3G. What really would be the closest thing to such a device? I'm open to any ideas and suggestions, but again I CANNOT change providers; seriously, AT&T is the ONLY provider with coverage in my area.
Thanks in advance for any and all answers and help!!!
The phone does have some limitations (you have done your homework). If you want a great phone on att, this is a good choice. The galaxy s (coming soon to ATT) may be better if you must have a high end device.
I would say that if you are stuck with AT&T, the Aria may be your phone. I have a had HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Apple phones and HTC has been the most solid of all of them. I just came from an iPhone and I can honestly say it has better reception, call quality, and adaptability than my 3GS. Phones seem to be almost a matter of taste, some people will deal with the most ridiculous shortcomings if it has a feature they feel is the most important. That being said, I played with a lot of phones and found the Aria to be the best package for a smartphone on AT&T at this moment. That could change as soon as another high end phone hops on but for now, I'm very pleased. I will say this, the battery life takes some getting used to, but its right in the same area and any other smartphone. Also, the speaker phone is quiet but since I never use it, it doesn't even make my list for pros vs cons. Being that it is locked down to certain apps and such is annoying, but coming from an iPhone makes it seem like a walk in the park to get other apps and such on it. I would say read a little more of these forums to see what some complaints are and see if any of them make your list of important features. But otherwise, you have on recommendation here.
Some of the gripes I have with this phone include:
* The screen isn't quite adequate in size for reading ebooks, which I didn't expect I would do at the time of purchase.
* The speaker is pretty crappy. It's not very loud and it sounds irritating at volume - very tinny.
* It doesn't appear to support very many video file formats. In fact, the only format I've gotten to work with Act1 video player are the base h264 and h263 formats. To my understanding, it is up to the manufacturer to include any extra codecs, so you're SOL if you're planning on using this as a mobile media player.
* It doesn't come with live wallpapers or an option to sideload apps. You can enable both of these by rooting the phone (which is a pain in the ass, by the way), but I've found that the processor isn't up to the task of running some of the more complex live wallpapers (like the mario wallpaper). I'm hoping this will be less of a problem with Froyo and the JIT.
* It gets a little warm when you have the gps on in navigation, but not enough to scald your junk if you're keeping it on your lap. It's actually not that big of a deal, just makes me worry about damaging the battery.
* Typing is a bit hard in portrait mode. Some applications seem to crash in landscape mode, like 'better terminal emulator', but I suspect that's more of a problem with the program and not the Aria.
* The camera is a bit mediocre and doesn't include a flash, but to be fair, it's primarily a phone and not a camera (I have yet to see a phone's camera be on par with a midrange point & shoot).
* Sense UI can't be disabled/enabled as an option, like on the Evo 4g.
I was going to test Google Earth for you, but I can't seem to find it in the Market.
Anyway, in summary, it has a few shortcomings, it's a midrange phone after all, but I love it regardless. It's slips into my pocket comfortably and feels solid in the hand. The interface is nice and smooth (unless you have some crazy live wallpaper enabled). It doesn't bog down when you fill the screens with widgets, and the browser experience thus far has been great. All in all, it was definitely worth the $50 I paid for it from Amazon.com.
P.S. I was considering holding out for something higher spec'd to come along on AT&T, but who knows when that will happen? The Dell Aero was supposed to be out months ago. Likewise, we are actually supposed to have 3 HTC phones running Android to choose from right now, and yet we only have the Aria. The Samsung Captivate is supposed to be 'coming in the next few months,' but I've grown to distrust AT&T's timelines. A major part of why I got the Aria was because I was simply tired of waiting for ATT to get their act together.
I went to an AT&T Retail Store here in Corpus Christi, TX to look at it again and see what they could do for me deal wise because I'm mid-cycle in my contract. The Mgr. told me he is suppose to get the "sample" Captivate on Friday, and it's suppose to be on sale the 15th. I guess to go head-to-head with the X??? I'll wait til Friday to see if it true. He claims there is a lot to coming down the pike with Android OS as it's the "next big thing..." (Well, for AT&T I guess....) I've waitd this long, another couple of days won't kill me to see it, and help reduce buyer's remorse...
lonestarmotorcyclist said:
I went to an AT&T Retail Store here in Corpus Christi, TX to look at it again and see what they could do for me deal wise because I'm mid-cycle in my contract. The Mgr. told me he is suppose to get the "sample" Captivate on Friday, and it's suppose to be on sale the 15th. I guess to go head-to-head with the X??? I'll wait til Friday to see if it true. He claims there is a lot to coming down the pike with Android OS as it's the "next big thing..." (Well, for AT&T I guess....) I've waitd this long, another couple of days won't kill me to see it, and help reduce buyer's remorse...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck fighting the urge!
modest_mandroid said:
* It doesn't appear to support very many video file formats. In fact, the only format I've gotten to work with Act1 video player are the base h264 and h263 formats. To my understanding, it is up to the manufacturer to include any extra codecs, so you're SOL if you're planning on using this as a mobile media player.
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Click to collapse
Not exactly. Do a search on 'Rock Player'. It's a media player that's still in Beta, and it expands upon the selection of video codecs that are handled by the standard media libraries.
It plays DivX-encoded videos like a CHAMP.
EDIT: Actually, here's the forum for it: http://www.diffthink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4
Regards,
Corporate Dog
* It doesn't appear to support very many video file formats. In fact, the only format I've gotten to work with Act1 video player are the base h264 and h263 formats. To my understanding, it is up to the manufacturer to include any extra codecs, so you're SOL if you're planning on using this as a mobile media player.
I was planning on using it as a media player... So, in simple English for my simple mind, what does this mean: that it can only use those two formats? Does it mean it's limited to what can be seen via the internet or does it mean I'm limited to the type of video formats I could directly load from my computer, or both???? Is there a way around these limitations because I want to be able to have infotainment in one device and do not want to drag around multiple devices. (Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I am FAR from well versed in this field.)
Also, thanks again for the replies and info.. It is GREATLY appreciated!!!
Corporate Dog said:
Not exactly. Do a search on 'Rock Player'. It's a media player that's still in Beta, and it expands upon the selection of video codecs that are handled by the standard media libraries.
It plays DivX-encoded videos like a CHAMP.
EDIT: Actually, here's the forum for it: http://www.diffthink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4
Regards,
Corporate Dog
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Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll check it out when I get home, don't have any divx files to play here.
lonestarmotorcyclist said:
I was planning on using it as a media player... So, in simple English for my simple mind, what does this mean: that it can only use those two formats? Does it mean it's limited to what can be seen via the internet or does it mean I'm limited to the type of video formats I could directly load from my computer, or both???? Is there a way around these limitations because I want to be able to have infotainment in one device and do not want to drag around multiple devices. (Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I am FAR from well versed in this field.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my understanding, there isn't any "CorePlayer" equivalent. I dunno if you're coming from a Windows Mobile world or not, but CorePlayer could run pretty much anything your desktop computer could.
What I meant by my comment was that the Aria appears to be limited to the .mp4 format for videos (I have not tested .flv). So, if you wanted to toss some movies onto the sd card and use the stock media player or Act1 video player (appears to be pretty popular in the market), then you're stuck re-encoding all your videos to h264 .mp4. The iPhone is limited in this way too, or so I hear.
But, from what I've seen with RockPlayer just now, it's seems to be very bare on options but looks like it can play a very wide range of formats. I just played some mp4 videos I had on my sd card and they run flawlessly. Hopefully this program is in active development and will turn into Android's CorePlayer.
Thanks for the info and links; you both cleared up the questions I had. I just want to cover every aspect so when my iFamily tells me I made a poor choice I can show them it does EVERYTHING I want it to and more, not what the manufacturer thinks I need it to do or should do...
I just am not seeing where you can go wrong with this thing compared to other devices.....
lonestarmotorcyclist said:
I just am not seeing where you can go wrong with this thing compared to other devices.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the small size can either be a huge plus or killing minus depending on your habits/needs
for me it s a definate plus
lonestarmotorcyclist said:
Thanks for the info and links; you both cleared up the questions I had. I just want to cover every aspect so when my iFamily tells me I made a poor choice I can show them it does EVERYTHING I want it to and more, not what the manufacturer thinks I need it to do or should do...
I just am not seeing where you can go wrong with this thing compared to other devices.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are buying the phone for yourself or are you replacing iphones for your family?
Corporate Dog said:
Not exactly. Do a search on 'Rock Player'. It's a media player that's still in Beta, and it expands upon the selection of video codecs that are handled by the standard media libraries.
It plays DivX-encoded videos like a CHAMP.
EDIT: Actually, here's the forum for it: http://www.diffthink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4
Regards,
Corporate Dog
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using rock player on my Aria for a while, and I am hoping this is just cause it is still beta, but SD AVI files run like molasses. If there is more than one thing going on on screen the video lags and gets out of sync with the audio. You have to pause the video, wait for it to catch up and play it again.
This is my only gripe about this phone, but it may be the program, not the phone.
Whatever phone I get will be just for me. My in-laws got their 3Gs' about a yr ago and like most, thought they were the greatest thing sinced bread. So then my wife "needed" one. I've played with it and it is nice to be able to access the web, and have music right there, but.... there seemed something lacking. I like the concept, but I also like to tinker with stuff. I'll admit, I LOVED the Droid ad campaign of "Droid Does" and since my phone has died, I started looking to get something new. It just seems better in everyway I can think of, but I want to know all I can to properly inform those who will tell me I'm wrong when I get my new phone. (And there will be a lot, I know...)
I just don't see how they really can be compared. Everyone I know who has an iPhone loves them, but they use them for the web, Facebook, Words W/ Friends, and as an iPod. I think it's great there are 200K apps, but I don't know anyone that uses more than 1% of them and every "cutting edge feature" seems to be copied from Android. I guess there is also the fact that there are a truckload of docks and cases to "personalize" them, but I think I rather personalize the stuff that matters.
In reality, I want to blow their socks off with what it can do and know it inside and out as soon as I get it. (You know, the ones that were excited about folders and backgrounds on iPhones. Does that make me a bad person??? Or just honest???)
My wife has an Aria, I have a Nexus One. I'm REALLY surprised when I use her phone, it's actually smoother than my Nexus. Long lists scroll like butter, the launcher scrolls extremly smooth, apps list, etc... I've never seen the phone slow down, it's all very smooth.
She doesn't watch videos on it, but she will eventually load her iTunes music onto it, but hasn't yet. She loves the smaller size, but you're right that it is a tad touchier to type on.
She raves about how fast the browser is.. And how everything just opens, bam... And her GCal euphoria moment was pretty awesome too; suddenly she can see my entire calendar, add to my calendar, see when I'm in a meeting until 5...
She's really been looking for something to complain about moving from her iPhone and so far I don't think she's found anything.
Just an update on the video playback capabilities in RockPlayer - I tested it with a 320x240 mpeg, 700x500 divx, 640x480 .mp4 and a 720p mkv video. The mpeg and mp4 ran perfectly fine, the divx ran pretty slow (maybe 10fps) and the sound was constantly desychronizing, and the mkv was unwatchable. It didn't scale down to the Aria screen size, and it ran so slow that you could see the individual frames (like 2-4fps).
Considering the speed difference between the .mp4 and the divx, I'm assuming this is a lack of hardware acceleration issue with some codecs?
I returned my Xoom yesterday to Best Buy( No Re-Stocking Fee) in Prep for the iPad2.
Sadly, the ONLY reason i'm returning is because of Tegra2 and it's depressing ability for High Profile video.
Kind of crazy all I really need is a great multimedia experience and my Xoom just wasn't it! So many foreclosure's if I have even 3-4 Tab's open in the browser.
I hope Moto/Google fixes this issue I have no problem buying one again in the future.
Bye! You really didn't need to start a separate thread for this.
Come back when you're tired of iOS.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Bauxite said:
Bye! You really didn't need to start a separate thread for this.
Come back when you're tired of iOS.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
Really? Would appreciate if non helpful replies be kept to themselve's as yours.
There will be no getting "tired" of iOS. I want a device that works.
When and if the Xoom will "Work" I will be back. Idc about what Operating System it carries. Android and iOS are both incredible.
jamaicansolja said:
Really? Would appreciate if non helpful replies be kept to themselve's as yours.
There will be no getting "tired" of iOS. I want a device that works.
When and if the Xoom will "Work" I will be back. Idc about what Operating System it carries. Android and iOS are both incredible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all you want is high profile video, I hope you don't get a notifcation or 20 while watching all those videos. I hear iOS notifications are wonderful when you're trying to concentrate on one thing.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
If all you're concerned with is high profile video get an Archos 101, and you'll be fine
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
jvs60 said:
If all you're concerned with is high profile video get an Archos 101, and you'll be fine
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Owned 2 Archos products in my day.. Very mediocre cheap products compared to the rest. iPad 2 is my best bet for now. Obviously alot will hate on my decision but it's clearly the best "Tablet" as of now. Hopefully I will be able to re-enter the HoneyComb seen shortly as I love the potential.
Bauxite said:
If all you want is high profile video, I hope you don't get a notifcation or 20 while watching all those videos. I hear iOS notifications are wonderful when you're trying to concentrate on one thing.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like all mobile devices. I like android more-so than ios, but man - you are about as bad a fanboy of android as the fanboys for apple. That is not something you should be impressed by.
I'm pretty sure you can turn ios notifications off if you need to. BTW.
jamaicansolja said:
I returned my Xoom yesterday to Best Buy( No Re-Stocking Fee) in Prep for the iPad2.
Sadly, the ONLY reason i'm returning is because of Tegra2 and it's depressing ability for High Profile video.
Kind of crazy all I really need is a great multimedia experience and my Xoom just wasn't it! So many foreclosure's if I have even 3-4 Tab's open in the browser.
I hope Moto/Google fixes this issue I have no problem buying one again in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious (and I mean this in nicest way possible)...why did you find it necessary to create a thread just to tell us you are getting rid of your Xoom?
jamaicansolja said:
Kind of crazy all I really need is a great multimedia experience and my Xoom just wasn't it! So many foreclosure's if I have even 3-4 Tab's open in the browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Xoom never had any "foreclosure's" [sic].
jamaicansolja said:
I returned my Xoom yesterday to Best Buy( No Re-Stocking Fee) in Prep for the iPad2.
Sadly, the ONLY reason i'm returning is because of Tegra2 and it's depressing ability for High Profile video.
Kind of crazy all I really need is a great multimedia experience and my Xoom just wasn't it! So many foreclosure's if I have even 3-4 Tab's open in the browser.
I hope Moto/Google fixes this issue I have no problem buying one again in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both my wife and I have the Xoom. And we rarely get force closes if at all. The video complaint I can kinda understand but:
A.) How many 1080p movies can you fit on a Xoom or any mobile device anyway
B.) I am super confident it will be taken care by a Dev or Google itself
I will never go back to ios. A screen full of icons is so 1990s
I do find it amusing you want "multitasking" and yet you go with the ipad 2. Irony!
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
I wonder when all the apple fanboys will go back to whatever message board is most appropriate to talk about apple products....
I owned an iPad for 10 months. I got my Xoom on day 1. With all of the Xoom's temporary shortcomings, I'd pick it over the iPad any day. Personally I feel that the iPad 2 is a joke - definately not worth upgrading from iPad to iPad2. It's like when the iPhone 3g got upgraded to the 3gs. Laughable!
tlogank said:
Just curious (and I mean this in nicest way possible)...why did you find it necessary to create a thread just to tell us you are getting rid of your Xoom?
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Click to collapse
+1 explanation please.
Also, you complain about "non helpful" replies yet you started a whole "non helpful" thread. Where's the logic in that?
I wish people would realise that XDA forums are NOT for complaints.
You know apple fanboy == attention whore. :]
tlogank said:
Just curious (and I mean this in nicest way possible)...why did you find it necessary to create a thread just to tell us you are getting rid of your Xoom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I love the community and I will no longer see you folks.
Strange, ...
Are you sure that iPad2 is capable of playing that H.264 High Profile?
Have you checked the official spec of iPad2?
http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Nothing mentioned high profile ...
jamaicansolja said:
I returned my Xoom yesterday to Best Buy( No Re-Stocking Fee) in Prep for the iPad2.
Sadly, the ONLY reason i'm returning is because of Tegra2 and it's depressing ability for High Profile video.
Kind of crazy all I really need is a great multimedia experience and my Xoom just wasn't it! So many foreclosure's if I have even 3-4 Tab's open in the browser.
I hope Moto/Google fixes this issue I have no problem buying one again in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
colbyb25 said:
Both my wife and I have the Xoom. And we rarely get force closes if at all. The video complaint I can kinda understand but:
A.) How many 1080p movies can you fit on a Xoom or any mobile device anyway
B.) I am super confident it will be taken care by a Dev or Google itself
I will never go back to ios. A screen full of icons is so 1990s
I do find it amusing you want "multitasking" and yet you go with the ipad 2. Irony!
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure he said multimedia man lol
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
colbyb25 said:
Both my wife and I have the Xoom. And we rarely get force closes if at all. The video complaint I can kinda understand but:
A.) How many 1080p movies can you fit on a Xoom or any mobile device anyway
B.) I am super confident it will be taken care by a Dev or Google itself
I will never go back to ios. A screen full of icons is so 1990s
I do find it amusing you want "multitasking" and yet you go with the ipad 2. Irony!
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A) Very True. But, I should be able to easily fit 720P video and/or be able to get software that can decode for me correct? Having to convert manually will never be a solution in 2011 for me to play on a Tablet.
B) This is Theory.
I do want to multi-task I actually sold my iPad for the Xoom; because I have all Android phones*.
I love the screen full of iCons once customized. I think this is also opinion. I love BOTH Android and iOS. But "Honeycomb" just isn't ready for the public. And we don't know how long untill we get updated officially. I root my device's but don't like to really tweak to much. So, even if a XDA hack solution is available I and the common folk won't use it.
The Xoom is sexy and I F*(&*(& Miss it like HELL right now!!!
But, I remember how easy it was to just upload a dam 720P Starcraft2 video from YouTube downloader.
Quite funny as to why you actually went for Xoom in first place?
Just read 1 of the article & it actually sums up entire Tablet war....
1)Various so called websites{Engadget--funded by Steve Restriction Jobs & others} complaints are glitches, battery life, and slowdowns. Yes, glitches and slowdowns are there. Do they ruin/hinder the experience at all? Heck no. People fail to realize that Android Honeycomb is a much more sophisticated interface than iOS. When you take into account everything Android does over iOS (widgets, customization, live wallpapers, true multitasking, better web browsing etc.), of course battery life and performance will take small hits. But in the grand scheme of things, Android has improved tenfold from Android 1.0 and performs amazingly well for everything it does. iOS is an app driven interface, which isn’t a bad thing, but the user has no freedom to customize the device to make it their own. The experience gets boring for someone who has used iDevices for a few years now. If you took a tech blogger’s iPad and compared it to a random 80-year old grandmother’s iPad, they would nearly look identical. But if you took my Xoom and compared it to anyone else’s in the world, I guarantee they would look completely different.
2)It isn’t fair to compare the performance of Android Honeycomb to iOS for previously stated reasons. I get a laugh when a tech journalist “compares” Android Honeycomb to iOS and says Honeycomb isn’t as fast and continues on to crown iOS/the iPad 2 like it’s perfect. Someone who reviews technology for a living should make it clear that Android has much more going on at any given time compared to iOS.
3)Another funny thing I see people say a lot is the Motorola Xoom/Android Honeycomb will never be as popular as the iPad 2/iOS. Uhh, okay? Why does it matter to YOU which one is more popular? Use both, see which one you like more, and go with it. Android Honeycomb will catch on and so will the Motorola Xoom. They aren’t aimed at the same audiences. Apple markets the iPad as this magical, cute, family friendly device while the Xoom is marketed as this totally bad ass, rugged machine that can turn into a spaceship if you try to grab it.
This guy has just summed up the entire Android 3.0 Honeycomb story.
iPad an oversized ipod Touch Tablet
I'm not a fanboy but can someone please explain to me why it's so difficult to play Video on this thing? Can someone also explain why the browser crashes? My device wasn't rooted but it would crash if it had to many tab's open and when I moved to quickly between them. Completely stock with only CNN tablet app installed.
What i'm saying is I paid 847$ for this. I expect it to just play the standard of HD Video. If it cannot handle this standard, you will have to decode the video specifically to this standard. Some as you see on the forums are still having this issue with certain solutions.
This iPad as a ex user didn't have these issues with video. So ofcourse the iPad2 will improve. BUT I feel the Xoom is better hardware so the problem is "how" long will the wait of fix be? I then see an Update that doesn't even list anything about Flash, SD Card Support, but a Time fix?
I hear so much about the Transformers incredible capabilities, but I have yet to hear what it cant do? What exactly separates it from being just as good as a computer?
btw, picking up mine locally on saturday. 32 gig, no dock, 10 hours of use, $400.
It cannot fill the void of a lonely life, nor replicate the caress from a beautiful woman, or the sense of wonder when you hear your child speak for the first time.
Left my TF to make me a cup of coffee this morning whilst I took I shower, but when I came back it hadn't even made an attempt to do it.
Very poor Asus!
Regards,
Dave
straxusii said:
It cannot fill the void of a lonely life, nor replicate the caress from a beautiful woman, or the sense of wonder when you hear your child speak for the first time.
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Click to collapse
+1 heheh
Quality. . @ fox
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
In all seriousnes.. For me it cant edit pictures efficiently in a manner I do on my laptop.. And I wouldnt even dream of dropping a Full HD h.246 video right out of my DSLR on it.. Its not powerful enough to play them let alone even try and manipulate those movie files.. Some day I hope to have a TF like device that will.. Anouther thing is that Video playback from the Browser could be better.. It does well but still isnt anything compaired to my i7 laptop.
Another thing is that in the Browser the keyboard has some serious lag issues that will need to be fixed later on in firmware updates.
Hmm .. I am trying to think of what else.. OH big one..
NO NETFLIX!! I know its comming but this is kinda a real bummer at the moment.
Aside from that I absolutly love mine and I think its the greatest money I have ever spent.. I dont expect it to do the things that my i7 laptop does but then again that is not what I bought it for.. I dont need a monster truck of a computer to go get the groceries ever day ( aka Fackbook, email, daily Forum surfing, blogs, etc)
All in all I love it.. I can throw my DSLR SD card in the Dock and view all my pics while charging my Droid X and/or OG Droid and using my wireless mouse plugged into the other USB port..
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
It can't do the most simplest things such as open a CBR file in file manager.
stcardinal said:
It can't do the most simplest things such as open a CBR file in file manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats nothing to do with the Asus that'd be a android/filemanager thing. If your CBR reading app correctly associates itself with .cbr files then a filemanager would open it.
change .cbr to .rar and most file managers will open the file, or get ACV to read your .cbr files.
back to OP:
The transformer cannot play minecraft (yet).
It cannot edit photos with photoshop.
It cannot play back live tv from a usb tv tuner.
Otherwise I have found a way to do virtually anything that I need it to do.
It can't do anything itself without you.
makec3rt said:
It can't do anything itself without you.
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Click to collapse
yeah , not quiet as funny since those amusing comments were at the beginning of this thread.
It can't make folders on the desktop.
Can't make usb->serial to work No damn serial port apps yet.
For the life of me I cannot get it to do my laundry, go to work for me, train my cat, CLEAN ITS LITTER, or take out the garbage for me.
and sadly having a Transformer has done NOTHING for my sex life.
ewingt22 said:
I hear so much about the Transformers incredible capabilities, but I have yet to hear what it cant do? What exactly separates it from being just as good as a computer?
btw, picking up mine locally on saturday. 32 gig, no dock, 10 hours of use, $400.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3rd party. No full MS Office suite, cant run my copy of Photoshop CS, etc. With a dual core 1ghz processor it will be capable of running lighter versions of some very powerful desktop apps.
Also, it doesnt make my breakfast for me, this is about the last straw and I might have to return it because people say the ipad makes breakfast.
Digiguest said:
and sadly having a Transformer has done NOTHING for my sex life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours cant connect to youporn?
Can't give me superpowers...yet...
I have spent most of the day working on mine doing my reports, what it can't properly do is replicate the productivity apps on your PC, like Word & Excel. The Android equivalents do a fair job of allowing you to see & edit most docs, but using tables & more advanced formatting in a WP doc & trying to edit / create charts is beyond the apps at the moment. I doubt MS will bring out an Android Office, so we have to make do with what's there.
Printing is an issue, I can print, but not always the documents I want to & they don't always come out right.
I watch movies & content from Flash sites & spend a lot of time on email & websites like this, all are good (agree that the current browser typing lag must be addressed urgently).
It doesn't have a decent BBC iPlayer app or Sky Mobile app - UK users need to be vocal about BBC & Sky stepping up support for Android tablets.
If you can settle for the fact that the TF is not a PC & wasn't designed to be you will be happy.
ewingt22 said:
I hear so much about the Transformers incredible capabilities, but I have yet to hear what it cant do? What exactly separates it from being just as good as a computer?
btw, picking up mine locally on saturday. 32 gig, no dock, 10 hours of use, $400.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO Netflix!!! With such a beautiful ips screen, Netflix needs to hurry up and optimize their app for HC without all of the security issues!!! Other than that, it does the things I need it to do (browsing, gaming, twittering, facebooking, etc.)
KB does lag and sometimes it takes to switch app between apps!!!
I use PlayOn for Netflix and Hulu. It's not perfect, but good enough in a pinch. It's also not free, but it also allows Hulu which, even if there were an official client, would require Hulu+ at $7.99/month. So, technically speaking Netflix doesn't need to be on the list.
For me, the biggest thing the TF doesn't do, as mentioned, is allow for editing complex documents. I can use it for my fiction writing and blogging (although the Wordpress interface doesn't work sell, so I still need to finish larger blog posts on a PC some of the time), but not for most of my day job work, which requires the ability to create Word docs with headers and footers, tables, embedded Excel spreadsheets, etc. Oh, and PowerPoint support is pretty sketchy across the board, although of the options I've tried so far the included Polaris Office actually does best with Photoshop. And, of course, there's no robust Photoshop and InDesign support, and so I can't do that kind of work on it.
I think the TF makes a great adjunct device to a good desktop and/or notebook. If I were to go on a trip away from my desktop for a week or so, I'd still take my HP Envy notebook with me. On the typical day or overnight trip, however, I just take the TF.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Doesn't do Hulu (as previously mentioned) and it really doesn't like open office files. And if a file transfer that had huge numbers of small individual files fails, you'll have a fun time having to individually delete sub folders (or I did anyways). But I just got mine, so I haven't really found out what it can do, let alone what it can't (aside from all the humorous stuff already covered).
--Jak
I was beginning to get the Transformer itch earlier this week. I kept thinking about how tired I am of reading my news sites (slashdot) on an iTouch and my ever building animosity towards Apple doesn’t help either. Then I started to consider how the dock could really make this thing exactly what I need for at the motocross track. I’ll be able to log and calculate all sorts of information on my bike’s performance like I would on a netbook and also when I am kicking back in the pits I can watch movies or do various other things. Sixteen hours of battery sweetness pretty much sealed the deal. Yesterday I overnighted the Transformer and now I have about 3 hours on the thing. Since I have no tablet, android, or any smartphone experience: here are my unbiased and uneducated thoughts.
I guess it’d be best to go over the common defects that are everywhere. There is a small amount of light bleed on the bottom of the screen. It is not significant, but it is noticeable on dark screens if you look for it. The speaker imbalance is not present on this tablet. No charging issues to note, yet. Bezel width is very comfortable. It isn't small by many standards but its perfect for my grip, non interrupting of viewable screen space. I have zero issue with the plastic body. It isn't aluminum, granted, but the quality feels plenty sturdy and it bothers me none.
Keeping in mind I only have 3 hours on the Transformer so far, here are some things I really like about the Transformer. The screen image is very crisp. The IPS panel does not disappoint. The Android interface is very sleek, and very smooth, I like it a lot. The built-in GPS and ever advancing Google Maps combo is great and I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me this summer. The background shift while you scroll different screens is pretty slick, I thought. The live backgrounds are cool, I checked out a few galaxy imitating live wallpapers off the market. Touch screen responsiveness is fantastic. Web pages are rendered very crisply and are easy on the eyes even during extended paragraph read-through’s.
And for some things I’m not quite digging: Speaker quality is a definite low. In low lighting the camera pictures are not very good, and the color reproduction is a bit low-end (haven’t tried in good lighting yet). No Netflix client. Application processes seem to build up with no obvious way to end them. All the talk about trojans hitting the Android Market has me fairly reluctant on freely trying apps and games. There is plenty of room for improvement in Polaris Office and I strongly hope that comes.
With everything said so far, it is truly exceeding my expectations. It’s a breeze to work with and I believe it’s going to be fantastic for what I need it for and more. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to start using it for work as well.
I hope this quick new comer’s write up is useful to other’s that are eyeing this gem, just as I was a few days ago. I plan to get my mandatory 10 xda posts in over the next week or so, then you’ll mostly see me in the developer’s section as I begin my own rooted work. See you on the other side
Brandon
brandon... said:
I was beginning to get the Transformer itch earlier this week. I kept thinking about how tired I am of reading my news sites (slashdot) on an iTouch and my ever building animosity towards Apple doesn’t help either. Then I started to consider how the dock could really make this thing exactly what I need for at the motocross track. I’ll be able to log and calculate all sorts of information on my bike’s performance like I would on a netbook and also when I am kicking back in the pits I can watch movies or do various other things. Sixteen hours of battery sweetness pretty much sealed the deal. Yesterday I overnighted the Transformer and now I have about 3 hours on the thing. Since I have no tablet, android, or any smartphone experience: here are my unbiased and uneducated thoughts.
I guess it’d be best to go over the common defects that are everywhere. There is a small amount of light bleed on the bottom of the screen. It is not significant, but it is noticeable on dark screens if you look for it. The speaker imbalance is not present on this tablet. No charging issues to note, yet.
Keeping in mind I only have 3 hours on the Transformer so far, here are some things I really like about the Transformer. The screen image is very crisp. The IPS panel does not disappoint. The Android interface is very sleek, and very smooth, I like it a lot. The built-in GPS and ever advancing Google Maps combo is great and I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me this summer. The background shift while you scroll different screens is pretty slick, I thought. The live backgrounds are cool, I checked out a few galaxy imitating live wallpapers off the market. Touch screen responsiveness is fantastic. Web pages are rendered very crisply and are easy on the eyes even during extended paragraph read-through’s.
And for some things I’m not quite digging: Speaker quality is a definite low. In low lighting the camera pictures are not very good, and the color reproduction is a bit low-end (haven’t tried in good lighting yet). No Netflix client. Application processes seem to build up with no obvious way to end them. All the talk about trojans hitting the Android Market has me fairly reluctant on freely trying apps and games. There is plenty of room for improvement in Polaris Office and I strongly hope that comes.
With everything said so far, it is truly exceeding my expectations. It’s a breeze to work with and I believe it’s going to be fantastic for what I need it for and more. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to start using it for work as well.
I hope this quick new comer’s write up is useful to other’s that are eyeing this gem, just as I was a few days ago. I plan to get my mandatory 10 xda posts in over the next week or so, then you’ll mostly see me in the developer’s section as I begin my own rooted work. See you on the other side
Brandon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About your issues with the processes, get a task killer for it as there isn't an in built task manager into HC
Look at the reviews or get an antivirus for free apps if you're scared
(I use lookout mobile as it has an inbuilt scanner and locator if you loose the tab)
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
brandon... said:
I was beginning to get the Transformer itch earlier this week. I kept thinking about how tired I am of reading my news sites (slashdot) on an iTouch and my ever building animosity towards Apple doesn’t help either. Then I started to consider how the dock could really make this thing exactly what I need for at the motocross track. I’ll be able to log and calculate all sorts of information on my bike’s performance like I would on a netbook and also when I am kicking back in the pits I can watch movies or do various other things. Sixteen hours of battery sweetness pretty much sealed the deal. Yesterday I overnighted the Transformer and now I have about 3 hours on the thing. Since I have no tablet, android, or any smartphone experience: here are my unbiased and uneducated thoughts.
I guess it’d be best to go over the common defects that are everywhere. There is a small amount of light bleed on the bottom of the screen. It is not significant, but it is noticeable on dark screens if you look for it. The speaker imbalance is not present on this tablet. No charging issues to note, yet.
Keeping in mind I only have 3 hours on the Transformer so far, here are some things I really like about the Transformer. The screen image is very crisp. The IPS panel does not disappoint. The Android interface is very sleek, and very smooth, I like it a lot. The built-in GPS and ever advancing Google Maps combo is great and I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me this summer. The background shift while you scroll different screens is pretty slick, I thought. The live backgrounds are cool, I checked out a few galaxy imitating live wallpapers off the market. Touch screen responsiveness is fantastic. Web pages are rendered very crisply and are easy on the eyes even during extended paragraph read-through’s.
And for some things I’m not quite digging: Speaker quality is a definite low. In low lighting the camera pictures are not very good, and the color reproduction is a bit low-end (haven’t tried in good lighting yet). No Netflix client. Application processes seem to build up with no obvious way to end them. All the talk about trojans hitting the Android Market has me fairly reluctant on freely trying apps and games. There is plenty of room for improvement in Polaris Office and I strongly hope that comes.
With everything said so far, it is truly exceeding my expectations. It’s a breeze to work with and I believe it’s going to be fantastic for what I need it for and more. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to start using it for work as well.
I hope this quick new comer’s write up is useful to other’s that are eyeing this gem, just as I was a few days ago. I plan to get my mandatory 10 xda posts in over the next week or so, then you’ll mostly see me in the developer’s section as I begin my own rooted work. See you on the other side
Brandon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's definitely a sweet device. My Nook Color is in it's box awaiting it's new owner
Check out splashtop..awesome. I also like the DLNA feature. I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
MurfsHTC said:
It's definitely a sweet device. My Nook Color is in it's box awaiting it's new owner
Check out splashtop..awesome. I also like the DLNA feature. I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Splashtop is sweet, thanks for the recommendation! I am interested in streaming blurays from my home server to the tablet probably downscaling a bit, there any popular methods of doing this yet? Maybe play on has something,I'll look into that
MurfsHTC said:
I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
So, are you playing the network drive movies via a desktop, and using the remote desktop to see the video? Or are you streaming the video files directly to your tablet? Are the video files pre-processed for a scaled down resolution?
I'm wondering because the stock video app and one I downloaded (mobo) doesn't seem to support streaming. I have ES Navigator to navigate to a windows SMB share. I can view files on the windows share, but when I try to open a video file, the tablet saids it can't stream - must download the entire file before it'll play.
Sorry to hijack the thread - but MurfsHTC commented on exactly what I wanted to be able to do.
Thanks.
coachclass said:
Hi,
So, are you playing the network drive movies via a desktop, and using the remote desktop to see the video? Or are you streaming the video files directly to your tablet? Are the video files pre-processed for a scaled down resolution?
I'm wondering because the stock video app and one I downloaded (mobo) doesn't seem to support streaming. I have ES Navigator to navigate to a windows SMB share. I can view files on the windows share, but when I try to open a video file, the tablet saids it can't stream - must download the entire file before it'll play.
Sorry to hijack the thread - but MurfsHTC commented on exactly what I wanted to be able to do.
nks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
basically I rip my dvds using ripit4me, dvd shrink & dvd decrypter. From there i combine the .vob files into one .vob and then convert them. Initially, I was using Divx and streaming thru the xbox 360. I also experimented with Sothink Converter and Handbrake. Sothink has many conversion options but I prefer handbrake. For some reason the Transformer will not load a .divx , .mp4 Itunes movie(.m4v) or .wmv file thru MyNet. it'll do .mp4 (via Handbrake). In a nutshell, I open MyNet, click on the seagate folder and it streams right to the Transformer. I did try mobo and haven't had much luck either. I use the Seagate GoFlex Net 1TB. Plug into your router, load the software and setup your user account. you can also access the drive thru a web browser. Google Chrome doesn't seem to work. Hope I didn't confuse or rattle on.
Well progress is being made on VLC for Android. That will certainly help.
droid_does said:
About your issues with the processes, get a task killer for it as there isn't an in built task manager into HC
Look at the reviews or get an antivirus for free apps if you're scared
(I use lookout mobile as it has an inbuilt scanner and locator if you loose the tab)
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is absolutely no need to get a task killer app. Let the OS manage that for you. You could even be slowing down your TF by closing apps. There are posts here (In the ultimate TF guide stickied) that detail why.
One of the best uses so far has been a rather reasonable music playback device, if you have quality headphones for it.
Enjoy the the TF Android adventure, it only gets better. Mine is three weeks old, and I have already taken the plunge and rooted, custom Rom, and overclocked mine.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Garf123 said:
There is absolutely no need to get a task killer app. Let the OS manage that for you. You could even be slowing down your TF by closing apps. There are posts here (In the ultimate TF guide stickied) that detail why.
One of the best uses so far has been a rather reasonable music playback device, if you have quality headphones for it.
Enjoy the the TF Android adventure, it only gets better. Mine is three weeks old, and I have already taken the plunge and rooted, custom Rom, and overclocked mine.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
only for the transformer I've heard
I dont' use task killers at all, but for HC I've read that you could.....just putting it out there
Brandon,
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Transformer. I know I am.
On the volume issue, there's an app: volume+ $1.44 at Amazon that made all the difference in the world after I did the 3.1 update, when it became lower.
About a week or so ago there was a thread on it, if you want to search for volume+. Seems a lot of people were pleased with it. I know I was, now I can't turn my volume all the way up.
Have fun!
sunsetbay said:
Brandon,
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Transformer. I know I am.
On the volume issue, there's an app: volume+ $1.44 at Amazon that made all the difference in the world after I did the 3.1 update, when it became lower.
About a week or so ago there was a thread on it, if you want to search for volume+. Seems a lot of people were pleased with it. I know I was, now I can't turn my volume all the way up.
Have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the looking out but I am in fact having no volume issues
Also i edited the op with two more items I wanted to cover but forgot at the time: bezel width and plastic body. Word to big bird
MurfsHTC said:
It's definitely a sweet device. My Nook Color is in it's box awaiting it's new owner
Check out splashtop..awesome. I also like the DLNA feature. I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to sell my Nook Color but decided to keep it as I enjoy watching Netflix on it, there's no working Netflix app yet for the TF.
Well a few too many beers tonight at baseball practice, came home and neglected a few steps during my first venture into rooting, ha! Didn't take but 10 mins to fix, but I am now rooted and on the prime rom. Will be checking it out for the next few hours
@Geekbabe: I think I read PlayOn supports Netflix to Android now. Granted you need to run the PlayOn server on a PC on your network, but it's something.
EDIT: Now running Prime on top of the netformer kernel. So fun.
Recently I had an experience with making a short video for My Wedding Anniversary gift and decided to do that on the One.
So I collected good pictures of me, my wife and kid dating back to 2006 and put them in a single folder on the One.
As expected, it created a short Zoe. However, pictures were about 30 and Zoe is only a highlight so doesnt capture all. So I tried the HTC Share option and it also ended up limiting my selection to 10 Pictures only
I tried finding alternatives on the Play Store and remembered Magisto. Tried that but when time came to select photo/video it listed the thumbnails from ALL my gallery folders in one single list (6000+) ... I could not find any option to list folder-wise.
(BTW - All this was happening at 12:30 AM!!)
Frustrated, I ended up picking my iPad and creating a movie quickly on iMovie ... took me 10 mins tops.
However, when I put that movie back on the One, it was an altogether different experience than when it was played on the iPad ... IT BLEW ME AWAY !!! The sound and video just popped out and looked way better on the One.
Ended up with conclusion that Google needs to come out with its native apps which rival the ones Apple has, to close the gap that we have between Content Creation and Consumption on Android.
(I AM AN EQUAL LOVER OF APPLE AND GOOGLE PRODUCTS. DO NOT DARE FLAME ME )
Google made an app called Movie Studio but form some unknown by me reason it just disappeared out of nowhere. That app can alter your videos and add effects, sounds, trip videos and even crop it. And you could also merge pictures and create a video out of it. Tried installing on my HTC One it was working with merging photos but importing videos doesn't work
Why didnt you just record a video with HTC One?
Interesting thoughts, and to a large extent mirrors my thoughts on Zoe as well. I've made three videos so far and they've all been really great, but the one frustrating thing is where the video decides to loop a clip or photo badly, and you haven't really got any way of tweaking it other than playing around with which pics are including and hoping for the best. Still happy overall but hope HTC decide to expand the features with future updates! Nothing wrong with mixing iOS and Android, either - I've got an iPad 3 and have been very happy with it!
Dharkan said:
Why didnt you just record a video with HTC One?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you even read my whole post?
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Oh wow, I really didn't read it properly, sorry.